McBlogger

The Average Jane and her Average Oppinion

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Ok, so for years I have complained about critices. I guess you could say, I have been critical of the critics. I guess, also, that makes me a hypocrite, which is ironic because you can almost spell critic inside of hypocrite with just a few short letter changes.

So, dear readers, I have decided to start critiquing stuff. I watch a lot of movies. I also cook a lot. AND, I watch a lot of movies while I cook. Why not critique it eh? YA, why not?

This morning, I watched Julie and Julia. It inspired me to get back to my blog which I have sadly forgotten. So I guess you could say it had a positive impact on me or at least on my blogging. I have to say over all, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10. It entertained me, and that is my first and foremost important aspect of a movie, in my opinion. Having said that, Meryl Streep (and yes, I am going to hell for slandering such a legend in the film industry) annoyed the fack out of me the entire movie. She's playing an American and oddly, she had a British accent. No place specific in Britian. Now, i feel maybe I should do some research into Julia Child, perhaps she was that annoying. Am I going to hell for slandering yet another great legend? In all likelihood, yet.

Back in a minute...

Ok, back, and thank you YouTube for this enlightening video clip. Ok, so Meryl Streep did a pretty good job imitating Julia Child, but still with the odd almost Britishness. Having said that now, Julia Child talks funny for an American as well? I can't put my finger on it but it's weird.

For the rest of the movie, I thought Amy Adams was delightful and adorable as usual (how does she stay so thin with all that eating?). The movie did drag a bit, maybe it was because my chair was uncomfy or maybe not, I thought it could have been a little shorter. Overall, I enjoyed it but not entirely.

That's my two cents. Now, with the inspiration to cook, and a lack of good bread in the house, I am off to do some baking myself. Some multigrain bread, fresh in the oven. yum!

Bad Luck Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:25:00 +0000

I have come to the sudden, horrifying, and undeniable fact...I have the WORST luck Ever! I am a walking, talking, breathing, sleeping, pooping, bad luck charm. Which is kind of an oxymoron, as charm implies good luck, when in fact, I have none.

I wont go into any sort of extended detail, just that I've come to this conclusion. I could regale you will story after story to the point you would no longer believe, all I CAN say is, never go out to dinner with me, and never EVER go tandem sky diving with me. I'm positive I'll never attempt it. I had thought for a while that I would go, and really wanted to, but based on my history, karma, pure bad luck, I think it would be safest for all involved if I remain on the ground.

I ask you this. How do you change bad karma, bad luck? I can't figure it out. If it's Karma, I figure I can change it, but I'm just not sure how. I like to think I'm a good person. I pick up garbage on the ground when I see it. I recycle everything, compost what I can't. I don't judge others for anything. I bring my shopping cart all the way back to the door at the grocery. I'll even take random floating about carts in to the store instead of leaving it in the middle of the parking lot where some inconsiderate, lazy asshole has left it. I'm as nice as I can be to everyone. I brought cookies to my neighbours house yesterday. I don't cheat, steal etc... What more must I do? I've done volunteer work, donated blood, nothing changes, so I figure it's just bad luck. Is there any way to change it? Is there anyway to change your bad luck? I'm going to be a miserable bitch someday if it doesn't change. Just once, I'd like to go to a restaurant and be served NOT LAST. Just once, I'd like to win the lottery, is that asking too much? Maybe I should buy a ticket first before wishing that. I just gave up on them years ago as I never won much save for a free ticket...once.

I appologize for the rant today. I'm just feeling a little bitter from walking around with this rain cloud over my head all the time. It'll pass, I'll feel better despite it, and the I'll put a smile back on my face, but for now, for this moment, for today, I remain defeated. I am a victim of my own bad luck.

OINK

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:10:00 +0000

My thoughts on H1N1 media coverage

I am sick sick sick....of hearing about the swine flu. I realize this is all so very well and done and easy to say when I haven't actually lost anyone close to me to the H1N1. What I'm mostly sick of is the media bullshit the radio, news papers, and internet chatter that keeps spewing forth. It's all conflicting, it all seems legit, but it can't be all legit if it's all conflicting. How can the vaccine be both good and bad at the same time.

I've heard theories that the H1N1 was created so they could sell the vaccine, create mass hysteria to keep us scared out of our minds so we will follow our governments and leaders to do whatever they want us to do. If it's been created, then you have no choice but to take the vaccine, cuz that means it's a real threat, man made or not.

Maybe it's not man made, maybe it's just nature thinning out the herd, in which case, I've opposing arguments from EVERY...FUCKING...WHERE about whether to take the vaccine or not. Yes, take it, it will help prevent catching the illness, No, don't take it, it wont work, it's no better than the regular flu shot which does nothing, and it's just drug companies taking advantage of a horrible situation to gain mass profits.

I'm so confused as to what to do, my head is swimming. Meanwhile, I worry about sending my daughter to school where 400 or so kids will be confined to a small, poorly ventilated, poorly sanitized germ factory called middle school. She's in the highest risk group, aside from pregnant women (sorry Flea, I hope you're making out OK, I worry about you too). Two kids, aged 10 and 13 just died this past week. It's horrible. Did they have underlying conditions? Were they perfectly healthy? Who really knows, I hear conflicting reports on that too....

I am really starting to get a hate on for the media. I've considered becoming Amish or just living without technology, but then I wouldn't be able to Facebook stalk my friends or play solitaire on the computer or watch House on Monday nights, or listen to my play list on youtube...oh, the dilemma !!!

Amendment: AHA !!

House

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

There's not a whole lot I don't like about the show House. There's a wise cracking asshole of a doctor playing mind games with the staff and patients. The cast is good looking. The medical mysteries are always interesting, and well, they play really good tunes. If anyone knows who sings this, can you please let me know. I want more of it.

Got to Be More Careful

And on another note, I have been busily painting the house. Some before and afts, all on a serious budget of nothing but paint and caulking, maybe a little sand paper. Also, I retiled the top of the counter area. looks much better with some nice tumbled marble.

The living room before I got my grubby little hands on it.

The living room after...

The kitchen before I fell upon it.

The kitchen after. It's like Kermit the Frog blew up in here but I like it. ha ha

I'm an Islander !

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:12:00 +0000

HELLO, from the wee tiny island of Prince Edward Island. Yup, I've moved.
A little ditty, my name means island, and is named after an island, and now I live on an island.

In brief:

I left my job with DND, and am now living in a ginormous and ancient old house in PEI.
house needs mucho work.
I'm unemployed but hopeful about getting photography work. there's lots of competition here though. Booger.
Still no babies
I did put on some weight though (not so good)
B is working for an alternative energy company, he loves it
B is also in the reserves
M (daughter) is enjoying grade 9. She loves her teachers.
I miss my friends like crazy
I'm super lonely
I'm tired beyond all reason as I'm trying to reno the house during the day.
Painting the living room. I will have before and after photos soon.

Since the weight gain, I've decided to start keeping my log again on Cosmo Butt. The problem is I'm not accountable any more. There is no one waiting to car pool to the gym, no one who's going to taunt me if I don't go or flake out. SO, now I'm going be more vigilant of my blog and try to be more regular. I'm also going to log my work outs in Cosmo Butt. I'm hoping I'll feel more compelled to do them if I have to log it.

Laters!

The Ikea Gong Show

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:12:00 +0000

For those of you who are unaware, Ikea is a store. A BIG store, check it out. It’s filled mainly with furniture, home décor, bedding, kitchen supplies and various other items that go along with. The premise of Ikea, and this is genius, is that most of their items do not come assembled and the packaging lacks any and all embellishments; therefore, they’re able to charge less for their items than say Leon’s, or Sears, or whatever… The Ikea style is very northern European, as in Sweden. Thus the store motto, “Ikea, Swedish for common sense” I like their stuff, the styles are simple, practical, and often colourful, where everywhere else the same items are fussy, and sporting horrible patterns and colours or lack there of. Beige, taupe, off white, and ecru are NOT colours. Only at Ikea can you get a florescent orange, or better yet, chartreuse dish brush with a suction cup on the end so you can stand it up in the sink to dry, or as I like to do, stick it to the side of the sink or the window so it’s floating horizontal. Although you do have to pick and choose, some things are just plain cheap. Shelves made with press wood and stuff.

Anyways, my point, I’m getting to it honest. I was at Ikea recently, and well, I couldn’t just not buy something. There isn’t one on the East Coast, so if one is to find one’s self in an Ikea, you gotta stock up. The only thing I bought was a small wooden box. It was cheap, useful, made of wood and ready for finishing any way I want. I also figured it would be an easy 20 minutes of assembly. SOOO……..NOT..…TRUE….. I have since discovered the complexities of assembling said small wooden box. The instructions…well, there are none, just some simple drawings labeled steps 1 through 6. Let me just start by saying that there are far more than 6 steps involved in putting this thing together. It required a Philips head screw driver, a hammer, and engineering degree, and if you were really keen, some carpenters glue.

I did discover while assembling, swearing, throwing a fit, and damning the box to the 6^th circle of hell, that I actually enjoyed putting it together. Anyone witnessing my wee spectacle might disagree, but there was a certain satisfaction to be had in hammering away at the impossibly tiny nails, attempting to screw the screws in straight with the wrong type of screwdriver, and watching the box take shape. It’s a satisfaction that I have been lacking at work and in my everyday life. There is nothing tangible in what I do behind my 3 cubical walls. Nothing with any substance comes out of it. The only thing close to being tangible is the memory stick the size of my pinky finger that has some files on it consisting of boring code and maybe a picture of two of the same boring army montages I see everywhere. Blech! Whoever invented the montage should be shot. They’re awful and everywhere at the same time. I have gone out of my way to create some super graphics that are both appropriate in nature as to what is requested and completely lacking in any layering, blurring, effects, and yet, the powers that be, always…ALWAYS just want a montage. But I digress…

I never did finish the box, I wanted to save it for a rainy day when I had nothing to do, such as today, so that I can savor once again, the enjoyment had by screaming, swearing and cursing a small wooden box, hoping to shame it into submission.

I forgot

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Ya, I forgot to blog about the rest of my trip. Did I even mention that I went on a trip? I should re-read my blogs so I stay on top of what I'm doing. I have the memory of a speck of dust and the attention span of a gnat.

Last week, my friend, ex-sister-in-law, and daughter's Aunt, all the same person (S), and I went on a road trip to take my daughter to Ottawa. There my daughter spent a couple days with my mom before her dad drove from Toronto to come pick her up thus saving her from my overbearing mother before it all became horribly tragic.

S and I stayed one day in Ottawa and did some visiting. I think I mentioned that. I saw my friend E and her new babies and my old friend L whom I haven't seen in ages. THEN, the very next day, S and I, got up early, said our goodbyes to my daughter and mother, and headed south east towards Banger, ME to do a little shopping before heading back to NB.

According to Google maps, the trip from Ottawa to Bangor, should have taken roughly 8 hrs, 37 minutes. Maybe if you had a helicopter or other type of miraculous transporting devise able to move you through some sort of time-space continuum. Once we hit Quebec it was all construction and bad driving. By the time we reached the border just south of Sherbrook, Quebec to cross into Vermont at a place that could only be described as the corner of Butt-fuck and you got a purdy mouth, I was about ready to kill someone with my car. S took over driving. The trip through Vermont and NH backroads was beautiful. Truly! I got the short end of the stick driving through Quebec's endless farmland and construction and sheer lack of public washrooms, clearly accessable from the highway. Out of desperation, we peed in a ditch on the side of the highway. It was a stellar moment.

We stopped at a restaurant in the middle of Nowhere, NH and had lunch. It was good but the convenience store gave us the willies, and we hightailed it out of there, absolutely sure we'd seen that exact place in a horror movie, right before the two female travellers are abducted from the side of the road cuz the local gas attendant sabotaged their car when they stopped and they are then locked in a delapitaded hut in the middle of nowhere, where they're tortured and eventually chopped up and used for stewing meat to feed the townspeople.

We got to Bangor about 11 hours later. Sigh! We got a hotel room, and hunkered down for the night. We were done in. Shopped all next day, had the best dinner at Texas Road House, WOW, that place is good, but jeez, the sheer amount of food they stuff in you is insane, then danced our butts off at the club that was part of the hotel (how cool is that?). We headed home Sunday, Fat, hung-over, and completely broke. It was a great trip. :-)

Good Friends and Babies

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:40:00 +0000

This is going to be short. I just got back from a road trip to Ottawa. I dropped my daughter off for the summer with her dad and did some visiting. I had to see E, whom I've known my entire life. She just recently had a baby. A second one actually, since the last time I saw her. (I am a terrible friend) Her new daughter is adorable. 6 weeks old. Her son is 2 and very very cute.

Here they are

I am unsure why I can't seem to make one of my own, but someday soon, hopefully! I remain hopeful, but all the hope in the world doesn't make a baby. It sucks! Doesn't help that B is dividing his time between NS and PEI. That also sucks!

All of this house shopping and job leaving and moving stuff is stressing me out. I thought I would be at work feeling all "la te da, I'm almost out of here, nothing's gonna faze me" I was SOOO wrong. I can't wait to get the Fack out of here, and it can't happen soon enough. I'm almost ready to cut the strings early and to hell with my paycheck, they can keep it. I am sitting at work, wasting valuable government resources, time, and money while I blog and I realized what could possibly be the worst moment of my entire week. Are you ready? It's a biggy.....It's only Monday. WHAT? Can you believe it? It feels like I've been here for 20 years at my desk doing nothing at all while my life gets away from me and it hasn't even been 7.5 hours yet. The worst of it is, I have to work the WHOLE week, right through to Friday afternoon at 4:30. I'll keep you posted on the progress, but if the progress stops, it's because I've lost my mind completely.

I think my eye twitch is coming back. I was shopping on the weekend with my friend S and buying stuff I can't afford when it came back. I guess I know my trigger point. LOL

Gotta go, it's 15:00 and I can go for a break. I'm going to get a coffee, it'll make the afternoon go by much faster.

Toodles

Temperary Insantiy

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Have you ever followed your gut on a whim, tossed caution to the wind, jumped in head first without testing the waters first, when every other part of you says, "maybe this isn't the best way to go about it".

Guess what? B and I just bought a house in Charlottetown, and we are quitting our jobs and moving to the island. I am going to attempt a business of my own in our new home, and B is going to try and set up his own business providing alternative energy to home owners. Lets outline just how insane this is.

1: We bought a house that is affordable at our current combined salary, of which, we are giving up.
2: Said house is sprawling and over 120 years old, and needs a lot of work and heat...expensive oil heat.
3: I am moving to an island notorious for it's clicky social networks and very unfriendly to "mainlanders" who move there. I know no one there, I will be an outsider.
4: I have NO job, NO money, NO friends, just a big gigantic house in the center of town with a giant mortgage, and a teenager relying on me to provide her with a comfortable and safe life style.

No matter, I'm super exited to go. It's an adventure and something new. When I look around myself at work in my little cubical and see all the other far too familiar cubicles with same walls, same photos of our kids, spouses, cups of pens, post it notes stuck to everything and the same tired bored faces staring blankly at giant computer monitors, or when I walk through the familiar front doors to the building with the same squeaky hinge, or go use the same old bathroom stall for what's probably the millionth time (without the joy of balloons and streamers for being the one millionth customer), I can't help but think how awful it would be, and how depressed I'd be, if I was still here 20 years from now.

I'm giving up Federal Government salary, pension, job security. I could retire from here and live a fairly comfortable existence until that time, but dammit, I don't think I'd survive it emotionally. I'd find myself a hollow empty shell, living day to day like a robot with no ability to think, feel, imagine anything other than what I'm told to. I have nightmares about the mustard coloured, padded walls of my cubical coming in on me.

Well no more, I'm bustin' outta here baby and I'm not looking back!!! Is it worth the risk? Hells ya! And those stuffy islanders that don't like us folks "from away" coming in to their communities and taking their jobs, they can all stuff it, and I'm going to get in everyone's face until they like me and accept me as one of their own. I'll make pies for my neighbours if I have to.

Front of the house

The studio space in our house. NOTE: that's not my furniture. That belongs to the current owner. We don't take possession until Aug 20.

Other side of my studio space.

There's so many more pictures, but I'd be here all day at it. I'll post more once I'm moved in and I have it set up as I want it.

On another note, I just read over my post looking for grammatical and spelling errors, of which I'm sure there are many but I'm not going to correct them, and noticed that the circles on the background start to feel like they are moving around in my peripheral vision, making it difficult to read the post, much in the same way as it is to watch the hockey Night in Canada commentary while trying shield your eyes from the likes of Don Cherry. Bless his Canadian heart but holy jeez he's hard to look at.

Cheers all, I hope you're having a fantastic summer.
McB

Class "A"

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:34:00 +0000

Guess what? I just spent about $600 to get a tiny little letter "A" put onto my drivers license. WHAT? What does that mean you ask? It means...drumroll...I can drive a motorcycle. Not just any motorcycle mind you, but any size motorcycle too. I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere but there is two levels of riders here. Class 'D' which is a license for 550 cc's and below and Class 'A' which is all sizes. I took my test on a 650 cc something-or-other-bike-that-the-name-fails-me-but-was-green. It was heavy compared to the little bikes we learned on. I was terrified, shaking, a complete mess and did horrible on my test due to being so stressed out, but I passed. YEAH! I was so exited I felt like barfing.

I took a weekend course that consisted of two evenings and two full days, over a four day period and passed the course. Then, took the test with the driver examiner and passed again. What a grueling and expensive experience but I'm soo happy I did it. I'm very exited to hit the open road and really work up my confidence on two wheels. Vroom vroom !

So far, that's my latest news and all's I gots for now.

OH WAIT..I just read Flash's Blog. I love it, it's very entertaining. He had a bit about cleaning up for the public. Not those words, but something to the effect of just taking pride in yourself. I have to share this tid bit cuz I am soo guilty. SOO SOOO guilty.

Not too long ago, I was at home during the day. This is rare as I have a job with a boss that insists I show up or not get paid. Wierd eh? Anyways, so I'm home and watching "What Not to Wear" on TLC. Anyone ever watch that show? The premise being that they stalk and subsequently attack an unsuspecting innocent person that is unfortunately lacking in any sort of fashion sense, and completely lacking in self grooming skills, and then make her over with a brief training lesson, a new hair cut, new make up, and a credit card with money on it to go buy an entire new wardrobe. Well, I was watching this show one afternoon and they were secretly video taping this woman who was wearing a pair of sweat pants, ugly old slippers, a baggy shirt and had messy hair and gasp...much to my horror, I slowly looked down to realize I was wearing the exact...same...outfit...it's disgraceful.

And you know what? I tried the whole grain raspberry muffin from Tim Horton's (coffee shop and cult phenomenon in Canada for those of you from away) and was disappointed. I saw it on the shelf one day like a gleaming beacon of light calling me towards it. Once I had that first bite of dry grainy blandness, I knew I had just wasted my hard earned dollar something or other. I was tempted to throw the muffin back at the cook in the back and insist on them giving me something that was actually edible but alas, I was in the car with E (my supervisor) on the way back to work by the time I had started eating it. I didn't think E wanted to go all the way back to Tim's nor did I think he'd appreciate me tossing the muffin out the window and screaming obscenities at passers-by about how discusting the raspberry muffin from Tim's really was. Next time I'll have pie.

Favourite couple so far

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:46:00 +0000

SO, it's the beginning of wedding season and I have a couple weddings, one of which is my brother....I'm on the fence about this. I think my brother is great, and his fiancé is fantastic, but I just don't think he's ready. He can barely take care of himself. Just my opinion and for now, I'll keep it to myself, well, with the exception of the blog. Jumpins I like the blog for blurting out stuff you shouldn't. ha ha

Anyhoo, this couple is getting married this summer. June 28 to be exact and these are some of their engagement photos. They were so easy to work with, I really enjoyed it, they were so much fun, and they made it easy for me to dip my toes back in the water so to speak. It's easy to get out of practice when you don't do it for a long time. It's NOT like riding a bike. Technology changes, what's in style changes, you lose your ability to shmooze (very important for making subjects relax) Anyways, these are some of my more favourite ones.

Farts

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:13:00 +0000

I'm posting this picture of the orchid in my kitchen. I'm hoping it will off set my impending comment about farting in my cubicle which I just did. It stinks and I'm silently sitting here hoping no one around me can smell it.

What's new.. um, I'm finally getting out of the public service. YEAH! but wait, oh nooo, no more paycheck, benefits up the ying yang...crap, is this such a great move? B is posted to NS but we don't want to go, so he's getting out of the army and taking a Windmill Technician's course in PEI. Combined with his mechanical engineering degree, he hopes to start his own company someday specializing in alternative energy sources. Windmills being one of them, also solar power is a big interest to him too. What does this mean for me? I'm leaving Fredericton, NB and moving to an island the size of a small booger where I probably wont find another federal government job, or any decent job for that matter unless I want to take up lobster fishing but then, I think there's a limit to licenses so that might be out too. Sigh!

The good news: I am going to finally open my own studio. YES YES YEEESSS!! I am going to be my own boss and I am going to do what I love. We have been fervently gathering supplies while we both still have jobs so that I'll be ready to kick off a new life with everything I need to run my own photography business. All that's left is some backdrops, no problem, I can do that. Some studio lights, which are going to cost a fortune, but I plan to get a location kit so it is more versatile and can be used at home or on location. This is the kit I've picked out after much research. Bowens Ultimately I have no idea what to buy. I only know how to use them, not pick out quality. If anyone out there knows about this stuff can you let me know your opinion or offer any suggestions re:studio lights? I'm going to have to drive to the US to get them but it'll be well worth it as they will cost over $3000.00 here.

Also, when we move to PEI, we are hoping to find a fixer-upper. Ultimately I'd like to find an older home with lots of character and fantastic wood work and moldings. Wood floors too. It will give me something to do while I'm not photographing people. All this of course is determined also by whether or not B and I actually succeed in baby making. So far, no go, and the longer it goes, the more I don't want to do it, if only because our future is currently on hold financially and caring for a baby while unemployed and trying to start up my own business doesn't sound all that appealing. It ALSO seriously puts a damper on my hopes and dreams of one day becoming a rock star or lounge singer.

Update: ACK It's too late, I bought the Bowens Location Kit. I bought it via Hunts Photo in NH so in a few weeks I'll be making the trek to New Hampshire to pick it up. I'm stoked. NO TAX !!

Soo sleeepy

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Ok, so I went for lunch and ate a HUGE plate of shame, but oh boy was it ever good. First, I had a really great steak, cooked perfectly (not shameful), a Greek salad (also not terribly shameful) and then cheesecake rolled up in flower tortilla's and deep fried, accompanied by whip cream and caramel sauce. Blech, it was discusting...NOT! OH my GOD it was soo good, but now I can barely stay awake at my desk and I fear the well being of the button on my pants. They are a tad stressed at the moment.

What else is new... B still doesn't know if he wants to stay in the army and take the posting to Nova Scotia or if he wants to take a Windmill Technitians course and work on Windmills. The course is in Prince Edward Island. I've already decided that I am going to persue my photography regardless of where we go but I'd like to know where we're going to go. I really would like to know.

We're trying to sell the house and have had an enourmous amount of people come through it, but no one is making offers. They're all just sitting on it cuz it's a buyers market. FACK, I'm so tired of cleaning the flush every day. ARG!

We've been trying to have a baby but so far we've not been successful. Maybe I'm just not meant to have any more kids. I had my daughter my mistake and now I can't seem to get it right, even with all the timing and patients in the world. I can handle the disappointment of not succeeding just yet as we have a lot on our plates right now, but I swear, if one more person gives me some advice on how to "Do it" and then procedes to tell me how easy it is, I'm going to haul off my own special can of whoop ass, cuz it's NOT easy, cuz it DOESN'T just happen like it did for all the do-gooder well wishers that keep telling me I must be doing something wrong. Ahem, excuse me, but I'm pretty sure we have the deed down just fine. No amount of standing on my head, drinking green tea, praying to the Gods, doing back flips in bed with pillows propped here and there with a thermometer shoved up my ass are going to work unless my body says "Yes, I'll play your game and let you have a baby".

I'm going to get my motorcycle liscence. I'm pretty stoked. I write my permit test tomorrow and beginning of June I take the course and finish with my road test. It's going to be GREAT! One good reason to not be preggers. We have a 1972 Honda CB450 with 69 body panels sitting in the garage just waiting for me. Well it's also waiting for a new back tire but it's coming, it's on order.

The picture isn't our bike, just one I found on the internet, but soon as I'm on it, there will be photos.

OH, and my pet peeve of the day is drivers that tail-gate. Why do they do that? It's not like I'm not going to drive faster if they're driving on my ass (I'll go slower, I swear I will, just out of spite) It'll just piss me off and create a hazzard. Idiots. I can't believe how many people do it too. Even some of my friends do it, and I bite my tongue when I am a passanger in the car with them, but it pisses me off like nobodies business. Fuckwhits

Riiiigghtt

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:31:00 +0000

So ya, I'm like unbelievably bad at posting of late...lately...since like forever... I have no excuse, no good reason. I have plenty of time on my hands at work (shh don't tell), I have plenty to talk about, and plenty of new stuff going on. Like I said, no good reason.

Hmm today, my stomach is a bit upset. Not sure if it's something I ate or a bug going around. I'm hoping for something I ate, that way, it'll work it's way through quickly (it's already started) and once it's gone, it's gone, unlike a bug which likes to attack you for days on end, potentially.

I took two weeks off from work for stress leave (this place is shit, not be mistaken with "the shit", it's just shit) and ended up working my ass of the whole time cuz B is posted this summer and we have to sell the house, so his dad came to visit and we painted, cleaned, gutted, and staged the house. Not a square inch of it wasn't untouched. It was exhausting. I needed a stress leave from my stress leave. I developed a twitch. People thought I was joking when I mentioned it but really, I have a twitch. My right eye lid kinda flutters from time to time. Some days more than others. It's down to about 10 or so twitches a day from an almost constant twitch 3 weeks ago, so it's getting better.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do once we move. We are going to Greenwood Nova Scotia, which I hear is beautiful but beautiful doesn't give me a job. I think I am going to stock pile as much camera gear as possible and set a studio. I've always wanted to do that and be available to do more than just weddings. I love portrait work. Also, the area of N.S. commonly known as the Annapolis Valley is gorgeous in the summer so I may take lost of nature shots and see if I can sell them. I'm looking at a good lighting set up. An on-location 3 light system. They are expensive but necessary. If anyone has good suggestions for a brand, or good place to buy used, do tell. I'm not a light snob, just want quality to last, and it is definitely ok to be pre-loved as long as it was taken care of.

So what's new with all of you? What's going on? I suppose I could actually read some blogs and find out eh? Jumpins, I'm so freaking lazy. I think just depressed feeling like I don't have any control over my own life and hating my desk job and what not... I know, whine whine whine... just get over it eh? I'm trying. Really, I'm trying. I've gotten back going to the gym and trying to run outside now that it's getting nice out, thank GOD, and hoping to get back into uber shape so my summer clothes fit and my brain releases all those great seritonins that make you feel great!

Miss you all, and I'll see you at your blogs real soon.

Oh Goodness I am horrible

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:43:00 +0000

This is Farley, he's our new cat. We saved him from the SPCA. He has been dubbed the most expensive cat ever. He has urinary track disease and cost us a pretty bundle at the vet, on top of the initial fee of getting him from the SPCA plus the food (special dietary food), plus the litter box, which he doesn't fit in, plus the scoop for the litter, the collar, the name tag, the mat in front of the litter bin (Yes, we are using a rubbermaid bin for a litter) right before Christmas to save him. But he sure has some kind of personality. He's also giant.

I am horrible. I haven't blogged in forever. If I blogged more often I could have smaller blog entries cuz I'd have less to say...maybe!

Anyways, today I finally got the blog bug after so long cuz "I am facking cold" I've told 3 people I'm moving to Australia, thinking it would be obvious why at minus 5000 degrees, but no, they've all said "Have you been watching the Australian open?" No damnit, cuz I'd just end in tears seeing all those Australians in their shorts and tshirts. I still, for the life of me, can't figure out why I live in facking New Brunswick in facking Canada when it gets this facking cold. We already had our cold snap, why are we having another one? Have I mentioned I hate the cold? This isn't just the usual kinda, "Jeez I really hate cauliflower and would rather not eat it" type of hate, this is a deep seeded, bitter, angry and resentful type of hate towards cold.

Here's the dog. She's the same pitiful canine as always. Forever looking like someone just stole her best friend. She's insanely jealous of the cat and sulks more than usual. I'm showing this picture cuz just before Christmas (really bad financial timing) we bought me some new camera gear. I got two new lenses (faster than what I had and infinitely better), a really great flash that pretty much does the work for me, and a battery grip, which I must say, is mostly for asthetics cuz it makes my camera body huge and thus more impressive, thus justifying a bigger fee for services rendered. So ya, I've decided to dip my toe a little deeper in the photography world and start working towards getting away from the cubicle nightmare that is my job.

I'm on a diet. Yes, a diet. I have Christmas ass** It needs to go. The tipping point was when I ripped a hole in my fat day pants. It wasn't pretty. I never stopped working out over the holidays, I just ate more. The weight isn't noticable to other people (so they say, lying bastards, but I love them all for trying to make me feel better), but I notice it. SO, I'm on a diet...and I'm consistantly hungry, making me cranky, and OH MY GOD, I want a cheeseburger washed down with an ice cream Sunday. Instead, I have an orange, and when I'm done that, I can go to the gym...again...and come back and eat salad, oh yes, salad, a nice big bowl of water that comes in different sizes and shapes called vedetables.

**Christmas ass: Can be defined as "my ass, only bigger" directly caused by consuming entirely too many delicious goodies at Christmas time.

To sum up, I'm hungry, I'm cold, and I'm trapped in a cubical that is litterally surrounded by other cubicals. The day can only go up from this point. :-)

Agog

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:50:00 +0000

I..Am...absolutely...agog.

A: That this woman Teri Hortan bought a painting for $5.00 and is selling it for $50 million. (Good for her)
B: That this painting is famous ONLY because of who painted it. That being Jackson Pollock

See article

Art...um, er Oh where do I begin? The popularity of art is subject to the whims of flamboyant lunatics claiming to be experts in the field of art. A.K.A the art critic. I'll admit, I am a critic of art myself, but it's one thing to like or dislike a work of art, another to dictate what is worth lots of money and what's not, for the general public to either clamor for or scoff at. My opinion doesn't affect anyone save for whomever has to look at my walls.

I certainly don't begrudge anyone liking this painting, but consider this, have you ever seen that show about "My Kid Could Paint That" ? There is some debate as to whether the 4 year old in question actually did the work or of it was the dad, but still... it's paint thrown at canvas! I'm just sayin..

Click HERE to see her work. She's really cute.

Anyways, my rant is getting away from me. This poor woman is having a hard time selling her painting because she's a former truck driver who bought the painting for so little. The art snobs don't want to buy a painting that didn't cost millions of dollars to begin with, probably afraid it's not worth millions of dollars just because at some point in the past someone only spent $5.oo for it. I blame this on critics. I'd like to blame a LOT of social issues on critics, but my rant is reserved for this one subject today. All's I'm sayin is that I bet if someone else spent several million on it and was selling it for several million, there'd be art snobs all over the world losing their minds because they just HAD to have it.

Last bit: My mother is visiting. I'm taking up Crack until the New Year. Blog entries will soon be taking on a whole new level of consciousness.

For the love of all that is HOLY.... I'm bored at work! I need a new job. B and I are looking into getting me set up with the gear I need to run a photography business so I can do my own thing. I'd be much happier this way.. FO SHO.. Flash: I think you know what I mean. I know what you mean when you speak of desk jockies taking up photography to save money. Unfortunate that when money is tight, the pretty things always go first (stupid economic ressession). That being the professional photos. I feel your pain. I also have pain, my ass is sore and resentful of my desk chair. The chair itself is some sort over priced ergodynamic masterpeace of mesh, plastic and hydrolics, but I resent it like it was cast iron weights attached to my arms and legs keeping me from experiencing anything beyond the confines of my cubicle walls, which strangely resist thumbtacks, thus making it impossible to make this space anything but a cold and sterile prison with a surprising lack of photos or anything personal. A single post it hangs from one of the three gigantic monitors taking up ALL the space on my desk. WHy do I have so many monitors? Why are they so big? The answer my friends, is I don't know. I didn't ask for them, I was happy with what I had, and now I work in a space that somewhat resembles navigator for NASA.

Fuck, I need a vacation.

aDot

Karma Deficit

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:30:00 +0000

I believe I may be in a karma deficit. It could also be the full moon. Perhaps the deficit is because of my lack of blogging. Is that a possibility?

Nothing really new. Still the same ol same ol, thus the lack of blogging. I don't even have stuff to bitch about work cuz I literally have nothing to do at work. Right now, I have an episode of Scrubs playing in teh background while I blog. How bad is that?

I'm heading to Bangor tomorrow with a couple girlfriends to do some Christmas shopping. The dollar is the pits right now at 81 cents but whatever, it's more about the trip/the drive/the restaurants/the bars.

Hope all's well out there, I'm going to try some blog reading today too. GOtta get caught up.

Oh how I miss caffiene

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:04:00 +0000

I've gained 5 pounds and have since decided to quit coffee today. I am an absolute JOY to be around right now. Trying to watch my eating and weight, exercise more and drink green tea has done nothing for my personality. I am tired, hungry, feeling gross, sore, and irritable.

Green tea SUCKS! I don't care if gurus, dietitians, health nuts, and Oprah all say it's good for you, it tastes like rotten leaves. I've added sweetener and milk, it still tastes like cud. GROSS!

All I want in the world right now, is to be warm in bed, getting an extra 30 minutes of sleep, a HUGE cup of coffee, and a really fattening bagel smothered in peanut butter and honey. But NOOOO, I'm at work, hungry, FREEZING, tired, and irritable.

Oh, it's officially the first day of fall today, I believe. In honor of the first day of fall, I have put away my flip flops (standard work attire) and put (shudder in horror ) socks and shoes on. My feet feel so confined. If they could talk, they'd be screaming at me to let them free of this multi-layer argyle prison they are currently in.

Today is not a good day.

Highlights

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:11:00 +0000

I know, I know, I knnooowwww...it's been ages since last I blogged. I had a few minutes and thought, maybe, just maybe I'd be able to get a few photos and highlights of our trip up.
The following in the sunglasses is Lester. He is a lobster. We bought him on the ferry to Newfoundland. He was our witness at the wedding and traveling companion throughout our trip.

Lester, the Dude, has got his shades on for the one sunny day we had in Newfoundland. He's soaking it up.

Here, me and Lester are enjoying our drinks at the George Street Festival. We went on a pub crawl.

Here Lester is at the beach. It was hard to find a beach with actual sand, but we found one. He's watching the ocean in quiet contemplation missing his friends and family.

Here's Lester witnessing the nuptuals.

And of course, here is me and Lester kayaking at Western Brook Pond. Those fjords in the background are actually taller than the CN Tower in Tornto. It took 2 hours to paddle to them. They look so close but they are soo far away. It was really disorienting. Lester had a hard time with it. He had to hitch a ride on my kayak with me.

Later peeps!

Quicky Friday update

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:08:00 +0000

We're back, we're married. It was a fabulous trip overall with lots to tell and no time to do so right now.
Stay tuned for more information or visit my website invite.
Yes, I'm too cheap and lazy to go for the real, put-in-the-mail invites.
Can't wait to have time to read all your blogs and get caught up. I feel somewhat lacking.

The Time is Nigh

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:06:00 +0000

This is the dress, needless to say this is not my body, or head for that matter. I also do not have this giant wrap thingy. Just a small chiffon flowy type scarf the lady in the store threw in for free. It's lovely. The lady in the bridal shop is hilarious, she keeps calling me darling, and honey. She also sounds like the lady from Monster's Inc. "Have you filled out your paperwork?"

Oh dear oh dear oh dear...is this panic setting in? Nah, no panicking, it's only...forever! ACK!!!

Ok, seriously, I'm not scared, well a little. Every so often, for no reason, I get the shakes. Me nerves are betraying me, cuz I otherwise feel quite calm and ready to depart into the journey of our lives together.

I'm so excited, and feel somewhat like I'm actually watching someone else's life. This isn't my life, is it? Yes, you big fart, it is... I'm answering my own questions. I guess some part of me never thought I'd be married and sharing my life with another person. I got too comfortable being on my own and adventuring into and out of disastrous relationships doomed to fail from the very beginning simply because they were the wrong person, thus making them safe as I'd never really have to commit to them. UGH! I'm venturing far too deep into my inner psyche. Somebody stop me please.

Phew, ok, so I'm going to stop all this deep thinking, worrying about where things will go, how it will all end up. I'm going to just go with the flow and enjoy the ride which will hopefully last till we are both very old together and complaining about our arthritis and the weather.

My check list of completes is thus so far:

Toe and fingernails are done, but Jeez it's hard to keep from chipping them. Already chipped two of them and it hasn't even been 24 hours. I'll have nothing left by Sunday. Fingers are fabulous with French tip by the by. Never had a manicure OR pedicure before for that matter. As great as they look, I'll likely never do it again either. HUGE waste of money considering how long it lasts me.

Dress is back and ready to go with alterations done. I'm going to have to snag some stranger passing in the hallway to help me do it up. I can almost get it all save for the spaghetti straps in the back. If only they were stretchy, I could flip them over my head. I'm also going to replace the giant button the seamstress put in for the bustle and replace with a tiny hook. What was she thinking? It's HUGE, and the dress has NO other buttons, so there's this one button on my ass where the train hooks up, and no others. Looks bad.

Hair: ugh, stuck here. I tried doing my own updo, and failed. Well, it look oookkaaayyy (say this with trepidation) but the curls did not stay put. They just ended up limp and saggy in about 5 minutes. More practice will be needed, or an alternative hair do. Perhaps my usual pony tail will suffice. ha ha

I'm buying a veil. I wasn't going to, but after the hair fiasco, I decided it can't hurt. If at the very least, it covers up the bad hair, it will have been money well spent.

Have shoes, not dyed to match dress but really, if your close enough to be checking to see if the tiny white straps on my shoes do not match the pale ivory of my dress, I'm going to kick you in the nose, cuz you'll have to be up my dress to do it where no one, save for B+ should be.

Rings are bought. I wanted to get B+'s engraved but he's hid them somewhere cuz he doesn't want me to have the engagement ring prior to our departure. ARG, how can I surprise him if I have to ask for them. It'll have to wait till we get back.

I bought tickets to see the Blue Man group. They are coming to town. I'm going to give them to him as a gift. Was going to be a birthday gift but I think I'll get him something else for his bday. I may contact his buddies and see if they'd like to do some sort of surprise for his bday which is going to be slightly over shadowed by this wedding and the subsequent backlash of the whole "eloping thing"

What am I missing? I can't think, too scattered. For the LOVE OF JEBUS! Now I'm panicked I'm going to forget something integral. I have fancy underwear for the woo woo, ding ding, wedding night.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just worried about the reactions of friends and families... I'll post the updates when I get back. Taa for now folks, I'll get in touch when I come back as the "Mrs. McB+"

Latta Peeps

Magic Eight Ball? More like sucky eight ball.

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:40:00 +0000

I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm wearing some awesome frog slippers. Stay classy!

Coming in to the finish of the 10K.

Helping B+ work on his truck. I'm playing with the gears on his big engine...wink wink!

When we went kayaking in PEI the other weekend. It was such a nice sunset to kayak into.

UGH! I am soo bored at work. I've actually run out things to look at on the internet.

Flea: I am driving slower too to save gas too, also car pooling as often as possible. My fiancé drives even slower than I do.

Why do rappers wear their pants soo low. Why wear them at all? I can already see their underpants. Take them off, save on laundry.

We bought our wedding rings yesterday. I definitely got the better end of the deal. B+'s ring (which I bought) was a quarter of the cost of mine (which he bought). I'm not kidding, mine cost 4 times the amount, I feel really badly he spent so much but he helped me choose it. I did get an engagement ring AND a wedding band though. It's killing me that I can't wear the engagement ring. He said I can have it on the ferry to Newfoundland. Makes sense, if we're keeping this a secret, I can't be walking around with giant shiny bling on my fingers. It's beautiful though. I'm not even a jewelry person but I can get used to it. It's a simple diamond solitaire cut round and in white gold. It doesn't stick up too high either which I liked. My wedding band is a series of little diamonds embedded on the top of the band. B+ chose a lovely white gold band in a brushed steal type look with shiny sides. It's very nice and classic.

This is by far the most negative magic eight ball I've ever seen.
Let me know if you can get a positive answer out of it.
Suckiest Magic Eight Ball Ever

Is it just me or does Daniel Beddingfield sound like the Chipmunks. Not sure if it's Alvin, Simon, or Theodore. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the song, has a great beat, it's just his voice. It's not natural!!!
Gotta Get Through This

Tidbits

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:24:00 +0000

We went kayaking around the Confederation Bridge in PEI. The water looked so calm, no white caps, but the swells were ginormous. In this photo, I'm gritting my teeth so hard in nervous apprehension I'm near toothless. I only wish you could see that my boat was lifting up and down about 4 to 5 feet and dropping with a splash over each swell.

Nope, I have not temporarily lost control of my fashion faculties or taken drastic steps backwards in my ability to dress myself, I'm wearing a spray skirt and booties. It keeps me dry while I paddle. We decided we would kayak to and camp on an island. From the shore, it looked nice, but once we got there, it was more like a horror movie involving millions of birds. Wait, that movie's already been made. The Birds. Needless to say, we kayaked back to shore in the dark, as the seagulls made so much noise we had to yell at each other to be heard, not to mention the poop.

Speaking of poop, it's hot, damn hot. I'm PMSy, bloated, and drinking much water, eating many vedgies, now I have the poops...at work. I'm good now though, I think it's all through. Just no sudden movements or bursts of laughter.

Speaking of hot, last week was 30 degrees plus humidity making it 38 to 40 degrees outside. That's nearly half way to boiling...literally.

Final points:

- Ran the 10K and finished in almost exactly 1 hour. I wasn't last...WOOO

- I'm finally moved in to B+'s house. Have yet to unpack. I freaking hate unpacking.

- Oh ya, almost forgot, we're eloping. Sssshhh no one is supposed to know. Except now you guys know. Ooops, my bad! I spilled the beans. We're going to Newfoundland first week of August and eloping while we're there, it's all set up and ready to go. I even have a dress picked out and being adjusted to fit me as I type this. It's beautiful, simple but beautiful. I'll post pictures later. No one even knows we're engaged so this will be a bit of a shocker for everyone, but I remind myself, it's about myself and B+, and no one else. We'll have a rockin party when we get back to appease some of the royally pissed off family members. There will be cake. There HAS to be cake at some point. This is my only request.

- Last and final point, the toaster has magically returned. All is right with the world.

The Case of the Missing Toaster and other Tid-Bits

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:50:00 +0000

So ya, I come into work today, prepped for the day with frozen bagel, empty coffee cup in hand. I head over the lunch room and WHOA, where's the toaster? This is not the first time it's gone walk-about so it leaves me to wonder how is the toaster so mobile. Is there some sick individual that likes to relocat the toaster randomly whenever they feel like it just to fuck around with people like me who prefer their bagels toasted to frozen? ARG, I wasted at least 15 minutes (work time) looking for the toaster.

I ran the 10K. It was easier than I though, I was more bored than anything else I imagined. What I imagined was twisted ankles, sore shins, tired legs, winded lungs, sheer exhaustion, but no, I was bored cuz it took so long. ha ha I came in at 59 minutes and a bunch of seconds...so basically an hour for 10K, which is weird cuz it takes me 34 minutes to run 5k. Oh, and I didn't come in last. There was 11 people out 99 that were slower than me. I'm impressed with me. WOO! Not a great time, but I finished and not last. I might try for a half marathon in the fall. We'll see...

I'm all moved. Did I mention how much I hate moving? I hate moving, but I'm done. Well, all my stuff is at B+'s house anyways. I need to unpack, which is a lot less stressful than packing and sorting in the first place. Jeez, I have a lot of crap.

The kiddo was at my parents this past weekend and week, and B+ was away for a "boys weekend" so I invited my friend S (ex-sister-in-law, and best friend) over for the weekend. We hit the bar scene on Friday night. I know it was a good night cuz in the morning, my feet were sore from dancing, there was hot peppers stuck to my shirt, a piece of pizza upside down on the floor, the entire contents of my purse spread out over the counter/floor, still dressed and half on, half off the sofa when I got up Saturday morning. We had a GREAT time. I really needed it after a super stressful week of moving.

In the week that I was moving, I put my back out, a rotator cuff seized, I had two canker sores, and 3 zits on my chin. A good indication that I was stressed is when my body starts to fall apart. I was falling apart, but I'm back at work and feeling 300% better save for the back thing, but I'm working on that with some deep tissue massage therapy. FUCK, it hurts when the guy digs his elbow into my ass cheek. I very clearly pointed out that this was the one and only time I didn't enjoy having a guys hands on my butt.

We're going camping next weekend. It will be a nice break for us to spend together. WOO!

Later gaters,
McB

Poor Dog

noreply@blogger.com (mcBlogger) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:41:00 +0000

The dog has been spayed. Here she is just home from the vet, all doped up.

Hours later: still here. Poor dog.

My mom is gone from visiting and off to Finland to care for her parents for quite some time. She'll be back in November for a visit but not to NB. I love my mom dearly, as one is supposed to do, but she shows me no respect for my wishes, space or person and it's nice having the house back to ourselves. ARG!

I'm almost moved in with B+. Phew, I hate moving. Not hating moving in with B+, he's fabulous, just hate the physical act of moving. What do I keep? where do I put it? what do I toss? What the hell is this? Why do I even have that? How on earth will I move that? How did I get it in here to begin with? So many questions and running out of time.

We have cable tv. I KNOW...crazy eh? I haven't had cable tv since 1996 save for a brief hiatus in 1999 when the cable company forgot that the house I was living in had the cable still hooked up. We also have a home phone too. This is a bit backwards as we are all with cell phones now, but whatever! It's not just regular tv either, it's the digital HD something or other, and comes with an extra box and a remote that requires a PHD to figure out. FUCK! I'll never be able to watch the cable cuz I can't turn on the tv. The irony of all this, is that we only have a 19" tv (old school style with rounded glass etc). ha ha I can watch CSI 24 hours a day.

I'm running in the army 10K race this weekend. I fully expect to come in dead-last but hope that I will at least be able to finish, thus making dead-last not as bad as falling to the ground mid-way and not making it at all. Fingers crossed, it's my first ever!

Later dahlings!